Yesterday the Gulf Labor Coalition, which is an official participant of the central exhibition of the 2015 Venice Biennale, and the G.U.L.F. (Gulf Ultra Luxury Faction) group staged a variety of protest actions at the international exhibition.
Venice
Gulf Labor Hips Venice Biennale Visitors to UAE Labor Abuses
VENICE — On Wednesday the Gulf Labor Coalition held the first in a series of four panels it is organizing as part of the 2015 Venice Biennale.
Debt in Venice: German Pavilion Artists Show Support for Greece
In response to the German government’s insistence on imposing austerity measures on Greece, the artists representing Germany at this year’s Venice Biennale have made a simple but powerful statement in support of the debt-ridden nation.
Iceland’s Mosque Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Will Be Shut Down
Venetian officials plan to close the Icelandic Pavilion of the 2015 Venice Biennale, which features a working mosque that is part of an artwork by Swiss-Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel.
Crimes of the Art
On this week’s art crime blotter: vandals attack Lego superhero statue, New York cops blast police brutality artwork, Cuban paintings stolen in Miami heist.
Syrian Film Collective Withdraws from Venice Biennale, Claims Censorship [UPDATED]
VENICE — The Abounaddara collective has withdrawn from All the World’s Futures, the 2015 Venice Biennale’s central exhibition curated by Okwui Enwezor, claiming that their opening short film, “All the Syria’s Futures,” was “censored” by not being screened on May 5.
Gulf Labor and Other Arts Groups Occupy Venice’s Guggenheim #GuggOccupied
VENICE — At 10:20am this morning, two boatloads of artists and activists occupied the dock landing of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (PGC) in Venice.
Portraits of the Palettes of Famous Dead Artists
A gradient blur of colors accumulated on the palette of Camille Pissarro, while orderly dark streaks of paint still echo the short expressionist career of Paula Modersohn-Becker on her wooden board.
A Delicate Savior: When Venetian Glass Was Believed to Be a Poison Detector
In The Power of Poison, currently at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, the history of poison as a natural defense, a murderous weapon, and even a cure is explored in detail.
Five Issues Threatening the Destruction of Cultural Heritage Sites
Yesterday, the World Monuments Fund announced their 2014 World Monuments Watch, launching a two-year advocacy for 67 sites in 41 countries.
In Venice, A Dream Reborn
SONCINO, Italy — Having just returned from Venice, with its literal acres of art, crowded parties, Arsenale hikes, and tourists wielding umbrellas through the rain, one exhibition left me gratefully awed. Ca’ d’Oro, an example of late Gothic architecture built between 1421 and 1440, is one of most beautifully preserved palazzos along the Grand Canal.
Resistance to Turkey’s Protest Violence Reaches the Venice Biennale [UPDATED]
In the last few days, the world is watching Turkey erupt in protest after Turkish authorities responded with shocking violence to peaceful protesters trying to save a small park in central Istanbul. A solidarity protest took place on the opening day of the Venice Biennale, and another arose at New York’s Zuccotti Park.